Eternal Struggle
by Golden Saphir
Summary: COMPLETE. The couples are seemingly falling apart. Sonic and Shadow are dead. Amy, Knuckles and Tails narrating. Pairings: AmyTiara, KnuxTikal, EspioRouge, TailsCream, SonAmy and ShadTiara. No Flames.
1. Love Is Not Lost

NOTE: I do not own the following characters whatsoever. And this story is not made because I wanted it to, but because it was one of the thousands of ideas I have. This also has no relation to The Truth Behind Project: Shadow.

**Eternal Struggle**

We shouldn't have been there. I think that to myself all the time. Eggman should never have been born. That way we could have lived peacefully. But he had to ruin everything.

Eggman attacked Station Square with a monster much similar to that of the Biolizard. Only two brave and heroic Hedgehogs could stop it. Sonic and Shadow. They became their Super forms and battled the beast. Me, Tiara, Knuckles, Tikal, Tails, Cream, Rouge, Omega, the Chaotix and the population of Station Square watched the three duke it out.

What happened next was something no-one will forget. Sonic and Shadow used a combination of Chaos attacks, before attempting a Chaos Control. They destroyed the beast, but in the resulting explosion, it claimed their lives, as well as Eggman's half the city.

Me and Tiara were heartbroken. The love of our lives lost. Just like that. We couldn't accept it at all. We cursed Eggman.

We cried for days, because the pain was unbearable. What made it worse was Tails, Cream, Knuckles and Tikal avoiding us, when we clearly needed them. Not even Rouge came over.

Tiara moved into the house as either one of us on our own would end up in the ghetto. We tired our best to forget the past, but the more we tried, the harder it got, and the harder it got, the more we cried.

Then it came to this day. It was different. Knuckles and the others had just started talking to us again. But what was more important was the events taking place in the later parts of the day.

It began at about 8PM. Me and Tiara had just tidied the lounge. It had been two years to the day since Sonic and Shadow died trying to destroy the monster. I kept it out of my mind as much as possible. I think Tiara did the same.

We sat on the couch and watched a bit of TV. There wasn't a lot on, so we gave that a miss. When I glanced at the time, I felt a hand touch my own. I looked down at my hand, and saw it covered by another. I then looked at Tiara, who had tears in her eyes. She then stood up quickly and ran to her room.

Confused at her motions, I followed her. When I reached the door, I heard muffled cries in her room. I knew how she felt, as tears began to leak from my own eyes. But I knew that the past had to be put behind me. But it was hard. I was still in love with Sonic. I knocked on her door, waiting for her to answer.

After minutes of waiting, Tiara was stood at the door. She said nothing, but allowed me to enter. She shut the door and sat back down on her bed. I sat opposite her next to the dressing table.

I watched as Tiara started crying again. I couldn't bear to see her like this. I moved over and sat next to her. I hugged her to comfort her. I was upset, and moderately crying myself.

Letting her go, I stared down at the floor. It was another load of minutes before either one of us said something. Tiara was the first to speak.

"Amy?" She asked with a shaky voice. Tears were still coming from her eyes. "I know we're friends and all, but can I say how I really feel?"

I looked at her eyes. She was scared about something.

"Sure." My voice wasn't as shaky. I watched her as she tried to wipe away the tears.

"We've been friends for a while now." She started. She turned her head to look at the floor. "But, recently, I've felt something more than friendship."

I stared at her. "What could she mean?" I thought. It was another few minutes before she said anything.

"A-A-Amy, I th-th-think th-that I-I m-might buh-be in l-l-l-love with y-you." She said, before bursting into a fresh wave of tears.

I sat there in shock. There and then she had released her feelings. I was confused. I didn't know what to think or do. But I did know that I had feelings for Tiara myself. Slight feelings of love. Yet I was too scared to admit it. Now she had done, I knew what I had to do.

I raised my hand and placed it round her shoulders. She looked up at me in surprise. I just smiled down, despite trying to fight back the tears.

"I know how you feel Tiara." I told her. "I love you too."

She broke into even more tears. I moved across and placed my other hand on her free shoulder. I gave her another hug, to comfort her more. As we separated, I looked into her jade green eyes. I could see the eternal struggle she had to put up with on deciding whether or not to tell me how she felt. But I knew she could see the same in my eyes.

We slowly moved our lips together, before locking into a kiss. Time didn't matter to us. Nothing in the world around us mattered. We had each other. We had both lost our first loves, but nothing could stop us from finding love in the other.


	2. Memories And Love

NOTE: As usual, I'm not a member of SEGA. I don't own the characters. Unless I have the sudden urge for own characters.

Little pink rose: Thanks for the review. To answer your question, only memories of Sonic and Shadow are in the story. Unlike my Meeting At The Sunset story, the two will be unable to return to life like Cream did. Unless….grins

And now, Knuckles narrates. (How I managed to pass off as Amy I DON'T know.)

**Eternal Struggle**

**Chapter 2: Memories and Love**

The explosion had took place. Nothing more could be done. Me and Tikal, along with Amy, Tiara, and everyone else, could only watch as the blast ripped through half of Station Square, leaving nothing in it's place. Sonic and Shadow were killed instantly.

As the population slowly returned, the four of us, Tails, Cream, Rouge, Omega and the Chaotix Detectives stayed at the hill where we were safe. Safe, yes maybe. But we were torn apart. Amy and Tiara suffered the most.

As the days progressed, one by one, we started getting over the deaths of our friends. We knew Amy and Tiara couldn't, but what we did was wrong. We couldn't find a way to help them. So we left them. I regret that forever.

When the day of the funeral had passed, me and Tikal made our way back to our apartment, as it was part of one of the blocks that managed to survive the destruction.

A full two years had passed since the event. In light of it, money and income had become hard because of the repairs to the city and sewer system.

Tikal had just got home from work. She was a kindergarten teacher now. She loved the job, as it reminded her of the Chao back from her time. She hung up her jacket and sat down in the chair opposite me, exhausted. But I could see there was just a little more than exhaustion in her face.

"You okay Tikal?" I asked her, worried about her of course. She sat there, a blank expression taking her face, when she suddenly burst into tears. I looked at her confused, then ran over to her to comfort her. Amidst the sobs, I managed to hear her well.

"It's buh-been a y-year." She squeaked. I looked at the calendar we had on the wall. April 23rd. The same day as since the Chaos Explosion. Trying to keep back my tears, I held her close by me, stroking her quills trying t get her to relax.

Somehow, she broke free and ran straight for the bedroom. I just watched her, before deciding to follow her. I found her on the bed, still crying. Tears now started streaming from my eyes. I sat down next to her, putting a hand round her shoulder.

It had been hard for us recently. We were finding it hard to admit our feelings for each other. Income was becoming a bit of a problem. We were also deciding on when we would start up contact with Amy and Tiara again. I did just that while Tikal was at work.

"Why did they have to go?" She squeaked amidst the sobs. I then remembered the full argument we had with Sonic and Shadow on that day.

**Flashback:**

Tails, Shadow, Amy, Tikal, Tiara, Rouge, Cream, Omega and the Chaotix with a few members of the public were stood around me, Sonic and the Chaos Emeralds.

"Sonic, you and Shadow can't take that beast alone." I said. "It's suicide."

"And you're suggesting that we sit here and wait for it to kill us?" he shouted at me.

"I'm saying that you need help." I offered.

"We can take it." Shadow said softly.

"Besides, where were you when we stopped that Prototype from destroying the world?" Sonic spat. "You had as much reason to harness the Emeralds power as me and Shadow did! You were practically in the same room!"

"I couldn't." I replied. "It was my duty to get the Emeralds away from the core of the ARK."

"WELL THEN WE DON'T NEED YOU!" Sonic exploded in my face.

"SONIC!" Amy's voice took over. "Stop this now!"

He calmed down at her words, then apologized to me. Then, in a flash, him and Shadow became Super and rushed off to battle.

**Normal Time:**

More tears came from my eyes. I brought Tikal close to me. I tried to get her to calm down. But it seemed impossible with our lives seemingly separating. But there was only one way I could fix this. Luckily, I had the item for just a short while now, and we had been together long enough. But I kept postponing. An idiot's choice I admit.

Letting go of her, I got off the bed and kneeled in front of her. She looked at me, slightly confused. I was scared with what I was about to do, but it had to be done.

"Tikal." I started, trying to keep my voice a normal as possible. "We've been together for near on three years now, we've come through a lot and we stayed together what happened. I love you, always have done, always will do."

I pulled out a small sapphire blue box from my jean pocket, then held it open between Tikal and myself. She looked in awe at the item inside. It was a ring, yes, but it had jewels much similar to those of the Emeralds. She then looked back at me.

"Will you marry me?" I asked her.

More tears came from her eyes as she threw herself at me, hugging me tightly. When she let go, she managed to say something.

"Yes." I smiled at her, taking the ring out of the box and placing it on her finger. She then kissed me instantly. After we separated, she managed to say something else.

"I love you too Knuckles. Always and forever."

I moved back onto the bed, and held her close to me, our struggle now at an end. We had each other, and no one could stop us from being happy.


	3. EspioRouge

Little Pink Rose – Thanks once again. Sadly, this is the closing chapter of the story. I might add a TailsCream, but that's only if I think up an idea for them. Plus I need to work on "The Truth Behind Project: Shadow" a hell of a lot.

Specter 117 - I appreciate your review. I can understand what you're on about with the whole AmyTiara thing. As I said, this was one of the thousands of ideas I had and I assure you that when I get back to writing "The Truth Behind Project: Shadow", both the girls will be straight again. Just let me get this story out of the way first. Also I don't easily hate people, so feel lucky.

Here's the final chapter to Eternal Struggle. No Narration this time.

**Eternal Struggle**

**Chapter 3: EspioRouge**

"Two Years." Rouge thought to herself. "It's been two years since Sonic and Shadow died. And I've avoided Amy and Tiara because I'm too scared to face them in case they're still depressed."

She moved from the window and sat on the couch. One reason she was upset is because she didn't know what to do to help Amy and Tiara. The other reason was because she didn't know where or how Espio was.

The day when the two Hedgehogs died, he took her into his comfort. Only after the group started going home, he disappeared, leaving her upset, as she just realised her feelings for him.

She was devastated, as she wanted to tell him how she felt. But she couldn't do anything, as all traces of him had gone as well. Not even Vector or Charmy knew where he was. She was most upset when she thought he might be dead.

"Where are you Espio?" She asked out to no-one. Tears formed in her eyes. She couldn't bear the thought of not knowing where he was. But she got used to it, as she had to put up with it every day.

It was night-time now. She had to get some rest. She found it hard to sleep at night as worried about Espio so much.

**Next Day:**

Rouge made her way into town. She had some food to get from the groceries. It didn't take her long to get her round the shop. Only when she eventually reached the checkouts, she noticed a purple Chameleon with a yellow-golden horn enter. He had a blue t-shirt, with dark blue jeans. Rouge instantly recognised him as Espio, then hid her face scared, in case he saw her.

After paying for the things she needed, she ran out the store. Unbeknown to her, the purple Chameleon had watched her as she left. He asked the person who served her if he knew where she lived. Luckily for Espio, the clerk did. Espio ran out the store instantly in search of Rouge.

Rouge slammed the door shut. She placed the bags she was carrying on the kitchen worktop and threw herself onto her couch, beginning to cry. She hadn't seen Espio in two years, and was too afraid to even talk to him.

Elsewhere, near where Rouge lived, Espio was deep in thought.

"It's been two years." He thought. "Two years. Just when you was about to admit how you felt about her, you chickened out and fled. Vector and Charmy have been scared out their minds. Rouge must be very upset."

He eventually found his destination. He knocked on the door, and waited patiently. He was in love with her himself, but as he thought about it, he became afraid that he might mess things up completely.

Rouge eventually opened the door, and nearly had a heart attack when she saw Espio. After a few minutes of recovering, she let him in and showed him to the lounge.

She was confused. It couldn't be the same Espio who left her outside the city two years before. She ignored the thought as best she could and made her way to the couch. He was sat in the chair opposite her.

"How are you?" She asked, not quite knowing where to begin, as both had been quiet for minutes.

"I'm good." Espio replied. "How about yourself?" he asked back.

Rouge broke into tears again. "I d-don't know." She replied. "It's been hard. I haven't been able to think properly."

Espio took notice immediately. Knowing that he shouldn't leave her alone, he moved over and sat beside her, starting to try and comfort her.

"Rouge?" He asked. "What's wrong?"

She managed to look up into his eyes. "Why did you leave me back then?"

Espio knew what she was talking about. "I left because I was afraid." He replied. "I was afraid to tell you how I felt."

Rouge stared at him. "How you felt? You mean, like love me?" She asked again.

Espio looked away from the Bat. "Yes." He said, just loud enough for Rouge to hear. "I loved you then, and I do so now." He said, refusing to look back up at her. He expected her to attack him.

Instead, Rouge cried a little more, before looking at the Chameleon. "At least you're here now." She said, trying to sound happier. "Now I can tell you what I wanted to say before you left."

Espio looked back up at her. She was smiling at him, before she lent over and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"I love you too." She said.

Eternal Struggle End.


	4. Keeping It All Together

Little Pink Rose – Once again, I thank you for reviewing me. Also thanks to you, I'm continuing with the story. But as for the Sonic and Amy thing, I'm saying absolute nothing about that. A surprise is around the corner.

This IS NOT the end as I originally foresaw and said last chapter. So I apologise.

And now, Triple Salchow, with pike. Sorry, I mean Tails and Cream. Tails narrating.

**Eternal Struggle**

**Chapter Four: Keeping It All Together**

"And so they died protecting Station Square." I finished thinking, remembering the day Eggman attacked Station Square with the monster.

"A lot has happened since then." I thought to myself. "Me and the others couldn't go near Amy or Tiara because we were too chicken to help them. Rouge has moved back to the city. Plus the minor details which don't need to be raised."

I looked at the calendar then the time. 14th April, 15:38 PM. It was nearing the anniversary of the day Sonic and Shadow saved us. I can never forget the day of the fight and the day after it.

The police came over to our group, or what was left of it. We were completely devastated by the news. Not only had Sonic and Shadow gave their lives, there was also no trace of their bodies anywhere. So the funeral wasn't proper because there were no corpses to deliver to the Earth.

Now, me and Cream are on the brink of breaking up. We couldn't hold it together anymore. Everything was going downhill since then. I didn't know how to stop it from happening.

Cream was at work when I got a phone call from Knuckles. He told me that he had got an engagement ring for Tikal so they could stay together. Thanks to him, I knew what had to be done.

After looking at many shiny and nice rings for two hours straight, I chose the prefect ring for Cream. It had diamonds encrusted as they went down each side, and in between, there were golden gems which were a lot like her Chaos Emerald.

After buying this, I decided that it can't just be a proposal, it had to be more. So I decided to get all the necessaries. Candles, food, everything. It took the best part of another three hours, but it was done. I had everything set up as Cream usually wasn't home until seven.

When she did return, she nearly fainted. She had never seen anything like this before. The curtains closed, candle-lit rooms, dinner cooking. She told me later that she never thought I was capable of such a thing. I proved her wrong.

After eating, Cream broke down into tears. I went over to see what was wrong. Nothing was wrong, as it turned out, as she was happy that I did something so romantic. She didn't know what I had planned next.

I took her hand into my own. "Cream, we've been together now for three years." I started. "We've been through a lot, and I think it's time. I love you, you're the most important person to me." I pulled out the ring, which was in a velvet box. She jumped when she saw it. I looked into her eyes, before asking her to marry me.

Tears were coming from her eyes. She managed to answer me though.

"Yes! Of course Tails!" She squeaked. I took the ring from the box and placed it on her hand. She leant down from the chair to kiss me. After we separated, she hugged me, saying four words that I hadn't heard in two weeks. "I love you too."

End.

**Now I quote from one of my favourite comics – "DO YOU WANT A HUG?" as I can guess some people are crying inside after reading this.**

**Chapter 5 Spoiler – What happens when someone you thought was dead returns?**

**At this point, I'm not saying it's Sonic, Shadow or Eggman. You can find out when it's up.**


	5. Not Dead

Little Pink Rose – Thanks for the review yet again. This is now the final Chapter. I will do other stories, one of which being the unfinished story "The Truth Behind Project: Shadow".

Ok, so I'm messing up the Story summary and in-story summary. Just forget it. The story is nearly done anyway. Chapter 3 was supposed to mark the end of it, but now it's going to end here. The surprise as mentioned in Chapter 4 is coming up.

**Eternal Struggle**

**Chapter 5: Not Dead.**

Amy stared out the window at the night sky. It had been just a little over two and a half years since Sonic and Shadow died. Both her and Tiara were upset by their loss, but they realised they had each other. Knuckles, Tails, Rouge and the others had started to talk to them again. Knuckles and Tails were getting married to Tikal and Cream.

She often thought of Sonic. She knew she was still in love with him. Tiara felt the same about Shadow. But neither could bring the male Hedgehogs back. That was one thing they had to accept.

Amy sighed and returned to bed. For some reason she kept having dreams that Sonic was still alive. But he wasn't. The blast destroyed Sonic and Shadow. She had to get over it completely.

Meanwhile, in the eastern entrance to Station Square, a couple of Hedgehogs made their way back to the city. Both were a golden-red colour in the light.

"Well, looks like we made it." The smaller one said.

"I guess." The tall one replied. "Do you think they'll recognise us?"

"I hope so Shadow." The short one said. "We need them to."

**The Next day:**

Amy and Tiara went to visit Tails and Cream. They wanted to help with the wedding, as it was the first one to be done.

They started with how many people they wanted. Amy and Tiara for starters, Knuckles, Tikal, Rouge, Espio and the Chaotix. Then all of a sudden, a knock came at the door. The four knew that Knuckles and Tikal weren't going to come. Rouge and Espio were away on holiday. Vector and Charmy were working on a case. So who could it be?

When Tails opened the door, he screamed in shock. The others ran to the door, and did the exact same. They were staring at two Hedgehogs. One Blue, one Black with red streaks. Amy and Tiara broke into tears.

"S-Sonic?" Amy asked the blue one.

"Amy…" Sonic breathed, looking at the girl he hadn't seen in two and a half years.

Amy threw her herself at him, knocking him to the ground. Sonic felt pain come to his face. She began punching him. Tails didn't hesitate. He pulled Amy off Sonic. When he let her go eventually she collapsed to the floor, crying. Sonic picked himself up of the floor and began to walk over to her, when Cream stopped him.

"No Sonic." She said. "I wouldn't. Not if you knew how she felt back then."

Sonic looked at the Rabbit, then towards Tails, Shadow, Tiara and Amy. Tears started coming from his eyes. Shadow approached Tiara, who got hugged him tightly, crying into his shoulder.

Tails broke the silence. "Where have you guys been all this time?"

Sonic turned to the Fox. "It's best if me and Shadow talked to Amy and Tiara about it first."

"We can go to our place." Tiara said. Sonic and Shadow looked at her confused. "Heh, sorry, me and Amy live together now." She added.

"Shall we go then?" Sonic asked the female blue Hedgehog.

"Yeah." Tiara replied.

With that, she let go of Shadow and pulled Amy up. The four left for Amy and Tiara's place. Tails and Cream watched.

"Do you think Amy will forgive Sonic?" Cream asked. Tails looked down at his fiancée.

"I hope so." Tails replied, closing the door.

**Amy and Tiara's Apartment:**

Amy had been crying on the way. She loved Tiara, yet she still loved Sonic. Who could she choose? She was so confused.

The four Hedgehogs eventually returned to the apartment. When they entered, Sonic and Shadow saw the difference compared to what they remembered. Girls things everywhere. They ignored this and proceeded to sit on the couch. Tiara led Amy carefully to a seat, as Amy was still crying.

Tiara was the first to speak. "So where have you guys been?"

Sonic looked at Shadow, before answering. "Well, when we used the Energy blast, we only had enough strength and power to get away. We used Chaos Control and found ourselves the other side of the planet."

"But why has it taken two and a half years just to return?" Amy asked, trying to stop crying.

"We were incredibly weak." Shadow answered. "We had to spend about in year in hospital because the battle had taken a lot out of us. Then we had to train up our skills again, which took another year."

"What about the last six months?" Tiara asked.

"We took all sorts of methods of transportation to get back, because of all the oceans." Sonic replied. "It could have been a lot easier if we had the ability to walk on water."

"Tiara, can I speak with you for a minute?" Amy asked.

"Sure." Tiara stood up and walked to her bedroom, closely followed by Amy. Sonic and Shadow watched.

"I hope they're okay." Sonic said sadly.

"Don't worry, everything should be alright." Shadow replied.

Meanwhile, Amy had shut the door so the male Hedgehogs wouldn't be able to hear.

"What's up?" Tiara asked when she saw Amy crying again.

"We're going to have to split up aren't we? Amy asked.

Tiara frowned. Tears started forming in her eyes. She knew she that she still loved Shadow, but she also loved Amy. She didn't know. She didn't want to break hearts, but she could only be with one person.

"It's okay if you still love Shadow." Amy said. "I still love Sonic."

"I know what you mean." Tiara replied. "Amy, I do love you, I will forever. But a part of me wanted Shadow back for so long. And he's here. It's like a second chance."

"I understand. A part of me wanted Sonic back as well." Amy said. She walked across the room and hugged Tiara. "I guess we have no choice."

Tiara kissed her. She could see how Amy felt. She didn't want to split up with Amy, but she didn't want to lose Shadow. They eventually parted.

"I love you Amy. Remember that." Tiara said lightly, tears falling from her eyes.

"I love you too." Amy replied, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Both Hedgehogs left the room to go back to Sonic and Shadow, and their old love lives.

Story End.


End file.
